


The Heartbeat, Center, Lifeline You Enter

by halfmoonjisung



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F, Fluff, Not Beta Read, Side Chaeyu - Freeform, We Die Like Men, ggjukebox, minor jihyodaniel, minor minayeon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26023006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfmoonjisung/pseuds/halfmoonjisung
Summary: Welcome to Café 230! This Valentine's Day, we offer you:• an alarming distress caused by the opening of a rival cafe across the street who’s taking all our usual customers;• an additional responsibility in the form of a stranded celebrity stumbling upon the shop, and;• two (painfully) single working students covering the shift who may or may not have feelings with each another.
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Son Chaeyoung, Minatozaki Sana/Yoo Jeongyeon
Comments: 18
Kudos: 114
Collections: Girl Group Jukebox - Mixtape Round





	The Heartbeat, Center, Lifeline You Enter

**Author's Note:**

> written for gg jukebox mixtape round, inspired by **opening up** by _sara bareilles_.
> 
> [ ♨︎ ] i joined the fest quite late (i think there’s only six days left til posting?) and i just want to thank the mods for still letting me participate!
> 
> [ ♨︎ ] big shoutout to my friends who helped bounce ideas with me even though they don’t really read fanfiction ;;;; ily all
> 
> [ ♨︎ ] also disclaimer that i LOVE red velvet fjjffk i just couldn’t think of anything else while writing /a certain thing/
> 
> [ ♨︎ ] other than my song claim, _i think he knows_ by taylor swift also plays a role somehow here

— ☕️ —

[ _don’t know what i wish i had; but there’s no time now for thinking things like that_ ]

**5 DAYS BEFORE**

It all started when Jeongyeon agreed to cover the Valentine’s Day shift.

Conveniently for the occasion, the occasion fell on a Friday. It just so happened that _that_ certain Friday was a town holiday celebrating the foundation of their humble little corner in the world, which meant there were no classes in all levels, and sometimes work too for private institutions.

Working on a holiday meant _double pay,_ and Jeongyeon could definitely use the extra cash.

(That cardigan she saw at the department store seemed more tempting to buy now.)

Besides, almost everyone wasn't available for the shift because most of them had dates to go to, courtesy of celebrating the day of hearts.

Her best friend was a testament to this.

“Double pay is tempting,” Nayeon wondered when they both read the text messages they received from Manager Bae. “But we can’t go.”

Jeongyeon raised an eyebrow. _“We?”_

“Jeongie,” Nayeon said, pocketing her phone as she gave Jeongyeon a knowing look. “It’s Valentine’s Day. You’re seriously not going to spend the day working your ass off for a full day shift.”

“I don’t have any other plans,” Jeongyeon pointed out.

“For now,” Nayeon wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “I will find you a date! I heard Mina has a sexy friend just like her. Who knows? Maybe you and I would both end the day with getting some action—”

Jeongyeon was quick to reply to their boss that she _would_ cover the shift before Nayeon could even finish her sentence.

Her best friend whined in protest, but Jeongyeon only brushed it off with a laugh.

  
  


— ☕️ —

[ _days keep coming one out one in; they keep coming_ ]

**2 DAYS BEFORE**

Nayeon was working the afternoon shift today, and Jeongyeon figured she could work on her balance sheet in the café since she had nowhere else to go after class anyway.

“Hey, hey!” Nayeon approached her enthusiastically, bouncing her steps as she waved her phone around. “Look at this.”

Jeongyeon put down her pencil and gave her a deadpan stare. “You better make sure that’s worth me ditching this worksheet.”

Nayeon placed a hand over her chest, feigning an appalled gasp. “How dare you think so lowly of me!”

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes. “What is it?”

“Your cover!” Nayeon practically squealed, startling a few customers from the other tables. “Look!”

When Jeongyeon proceeded to squint at the screen, she was greeted by the tweet Nayeon made the other day. It was an unsolicited recording of Jeongyeon singing Taylor Swift’s _I Think He Knows_ (with distinct replacements of the pronouns _he_ to _she_ ) while she was working a publication for their course organization on her laptop. She only found out about it after receiving a notification that Nayeon tagged her on a post, and as usual, her best friend refused to take it down, so she didn’t bother anymore.

“What about it?” Jeongyeon asked, cringing a little bit at how messy her hair appeared in the video.

 _“What about it?”_ Nayeon repeated in a louder voice, startling the customers again. “It has five thousand views! You’re practically famous!”

Jeongyeon scoffed. “It’s the autoplay. Also, are you really monitoring that?”

“I’m not,” Nayeon replied, then jerking her head towards the cashier. “I just saw Sana watching it a while ago.”

Sana, who was rearranging the donuts by the counter, seemed to perk up at the mention of her name. She waved towards where Nayeon and Jeongyeon were before going back to the pastries.

“She told me you’re really good,” Nayeon continued after waving back to Sana. “Didn’t even know you were seeing. See! _This_ is what I’m telling you. You have to let that golden voice shine sometimes.”

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes, picking up her pencil again. “It’s just a hobby.”

“That you’re extremely good at!”

Jeongyeon went back to her worksheets.

“Okay fine, fine, screw the singing, blah, blah,” Nayeon said, leaning a little bit towards her. And then, “You know, you can still cancel the shift. Mina’s friend, Momo, is a _total_ hottie and I _really_ think you’ll like her—”

“Sana!” Jeongyeon called, ignoring Nayeon who just groaned. “Can you serve me instead? I don’t like this waitress.”

Nayeon gasped. “How dare you!”

Jeongyeon only stuck her tongue out.

Eventually, Nayeon was the one who was sorting pastries behind the counter and Sana was the one walking around the tables. Sana handed Jeongyeon a plate of glazed donut that she recently ordered right after Nayeon left her alone. “Here’s your food.”

Jeongyeon smiled at her. “Thanks.”

The bell to the shop rang, and like instinct, they both turned to the entrance to see who the customer was. Habit, Jeongyeon figured. Still, she wasn’t working today so she didn’t have to greet whoever it was that entered.

Sana was the one who did that. “Welcome to _Café 230!_ ”

Jeongyeon recognized the person who just entered and offered them a smile and a wave.

Chaeyoung waved back, but she didn’t return the smile. She had a frown on her face as usual, which made Jeongyeon chuckle.

“Can I sit here?” she gestured to the vacant chair across Jeongyeon.

“Go ahead.”

“Hi Chaeng!” Nayeon greeted from the counter.

“Hey unnie,” Chaeyoung greeted back as she took the seat. She was probably Café 230’s star customer, dropping by almost every day. It’s how she became familiar and close to the staff working there; Jeongyeon, Sana, and Nayeon included.

Sana raised an eyebrow at the younger girl. “What happened to you?”

Jeongyeon chuckled. “That’s her default face, what do you mean?”

Chaeyoung scowled at her which only made Jeongyeon laugh even more. “Bad day at uni. I thought there’s nothing as cheesy as the high school proposal stunts, but it turns out seeing couples making out in every turn you make is no better.”

“Thank god you’re not Nayeon and Mina’s third wheel,” Jeongyeon told her.

“I heard that!” Nayeon called from the desk.

“Anyway,” Sana chirped. “Should I get you your usual?”

Chaeyoung groggily nodded, carefully pushing a few of Jeongyeon’s textbooks aside so she could lean her head on the table. “Yes please.”

Sana came back after a few minutes with a java chip frappe and a slice of banana cake. She lingered a little bit right after Chaeyoung took her order.

“You need a girlfriend,” Jeongyeon told the younger girl, just to stir things up.

From beside her, Sana chuckled. “I agree.”

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. “I’m not listening to two single people making comments about my lovelife, or the lack thereof.”

“That’s right, Chaeng!” Nayeon called again.

Jeongyeon turned to her. “Don’t you have work to do?”

Nayeon raised her arms in surrender, puckering her lips and using them to point at Sana. “She’s supposed to be working too!”

Sana stuck her tongue out at Nayeon. “I am working, darling. I’m simply having a conversation with our customers.”

“And that’s when you know it’s a normal day in Café 230,” Chaeyoung sing-sang before she took a biteful of banana cake into her mouth.

Jeongyeon laughed in support as she went back to her balance sheets.

After a while, Sana started to serve different tables and Nayeon was now entertaining a couple of grandmothers ordering some hot coffee drinks. Chaeyoung was still sulkily eating her meal while Jeongyeon munched on her donut as she finished her workload.

“Why are you so grumpy about this whole couple thing?” Jeongyeon asked, eyeing Chaeyoung who didn’t even look at her.

“No reason,” Chaeyoung said, finishing up her banana bread. “Just irks me, that’s all.”

Jeongyeon shrugged. “My point still stands. You’d think differently if you get a girlfriend.”

Chaeyoung whined. “You don’t even have one, unnie.”

“Jeongyeon has a point though,” Sana suddenly said, sauntering back to their table again. 

Chaeyoung groaned, raising her hands up in surrender while looking at the both of them accusingly. “You two always gang up against me!”

“Deserve,” Jeongyeon interjected, earning a glare from Chaeyoung and a laugh from Sana.

“Maybe you two should get yourselves girlfriends first before telling me to get one,” Chaeyoung huffed afterwards.

Nayeon, with her somehow get-Jeongyeon-to-date-someone radar always activated, called from the counter again just to say, “I’m with you on that one, Chaeng!”

Chaeyoung beamed in triumph. “Thanks unnie! This is why you’re my favorite!”

“Hey!” both Jeongyeon and Sana protested at the same time.

“See? I don’t like the two of you together,” Chaeyoung claimed, pointing back and forth between Jeongyeon and Sana. “You two are despicable combined.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to endure us some more,” Sana winked. “The two of us will be covering the Valentine's Day shift.”

Jeongyeon didn’t know this. “You’re working on Friday too?”

“Yeah, I just told Manager Bae today,” Sana said. “I don’t have any plans, and Jihyo’s going to have Daniel over, so I’d rather preoccupy myself here. Plus, the pay’s double.”

Jeongyeon didn’t say anything else other than raise her hand which Sana immediately understood as a high-five. Chaeyoung blinked at them before letting out another huff. 

“I’ll make sure not to come by on Friday then,” the younger girl grumbled, but the three of them knew that was a lie. Going to Café 230 was already part of Chaeyoung’s daily routine.

When the television of the shop started to play an adult drama, Sana quickly rushed to where the remote was located and changed the channel before the recap of a rated R scene could play. She managed to do so just in time, and a celebrity news program overtook the screen.

“Close call,” Jeongyeon commented, eyes still on the television as Sana returned to their table. The three of them were now watching intently.

_“Chou Tzuyu was spotted arriving at a certain town, something netizens assumed was for her film shooting. Tzuyu is currently one of the rising young actresses in the industry, well known for her background as a model and her admirable performance when she made her debut as an actress in the tv series, Getaway Car…”_

“I’d date her,” Sana said out of the blue.

Jeongyeon snickered. “What’s stopping you?” she joked.

She expected Sana to tag along with the question or maybe just straight up reply that Chou Tzuyu was, of course, a celebrity, and therefore almost unattainable.

However, Sana didn’t answer.

“I would too,” Chaeyoung wondered after a while, and just like that, Jeongyeon and Sana were back to teasing the younger girl.

  
  


— ☕️ —

[ _another carbon copy of where i’ve already been_ ]

**9 HOURS IN**

Jeongyeon was the first to arrive at the shop, which wasn’t supposed to be the case because Sana had the keys. And so, Jeongyeon sat by the doorstep of the shop scrolling through her phone, the spirit of Valentine’s lurking around her surroundings with all the roses and balloons and kisses she’s and also on her phone screen with all the greetings and posts and stories.

She just finished typing in a teasing comment under Nayeon’s post for Mina when Sana arrived.

“Sorry!” The other girl apologized, catching her breath. “Got held up. Jihyo beat me to the shower first and I believe she’s… preparing..”

“Okay, okay, don’t continue that sentence,” Jeongyeon laughed. “Let’s open the shop.”

Sana nodded and pulled out the keys from her jeans. Jeongyeon noticed that she dressed up with more effort today, probably because today was a special occasion. Sana was wearing a loose off-shoulder blouse tucked in a pair of denim high waisted square pants that reached her knee matched with a pair of summer sandals that showed off her pretty floral pedicure.

Jeongyeon’s face flushed and she averted her gaze instantly, feeling awkward because 1. she was just wearing her worn out sneakers, sweatpants, and their university hoodie, and 2. she was staring too long.

They both headed to the locker rooms right after Sana unlocked the shop. Since it was Valentine’s Day, they were both required to wear the heart headbands and aprons just so they could match the shop decorations and the occasion in general as well.

“A full eight hour shift,” Jeongyeon said wistfully as she leaned behind the counter while Sana sat on one of the vacant tables. “This is going to be a lot of work.”

Sana flashed her an encouraging smile. “Think of the double pay instead. Also, Manager Bae said all the tips we’re getting today would be split just between the two of us and wouldn’t have to go to the general tip bank.”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

Jeongyeon grinned; partly because of yes, the double pay and the tip benefit, and partly because you can’t help but smile back when Sana smiles at you. “You’re right,” she agreed. “Alright, let’s get to work then!”

As they waited for customers, Sana took it upon herself to rearrange the posters plastered on the glass window while Jeongyeon started to brew the coffee and bake a few more pastries in addition to the ones they’ve already prepared. When Sana has already finished what seemed like forty arrangements and Jeongyeon has already doubled the amount of doughnuts in the stalls, that’s when they realized something was weird.

“It’s past nine, right?” Jeongyeon asked, glancing at her wristwatch.

Sana turned to the clock hanging on the wall as well. “More than thirty minutes had passed.”

“Huh,” Jeongyeon thought out loud while Sana made her way towards the front door just to look around. “Our usual customers should be here by now. I was expecting Mrs. Kim, at least, to be demanding her cappuccino.”

“You and me both…” Sana trailed, still looking at a faraway distance.

Jeongyeon shrugged, pulling out her phone to scroll through twitter for a while. “Oh well. It’s probably because it’s Valentine’s Day, so they all had their own plans. They’ll probably drop by later.”

She was in the process of quoting one of her dongsaeng’s confession tweets when Sana replied to her. “Uh… Jeongie…”

“Yeah?” Jeongyeon asked, picking up the worry in Sana’s voice.

“About what you said,” Sana said warily, still looking by the door. “I don’t think that’s the case.”

Jeongyeon furrowed her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t think it’s because it’s Valentine’s Day that we’re not getting any customers yet.”

If it weren’t for the genuine concern written all over Sana’s face, Jeongyeon would’ve snickered. Curious and worried, she put her phone back in her pocket and walked over to where Sana was.

“What is it?” she asked when she found her place beside Sana. However, before Sana even pointed a finger towards somewhere, Jeongyeon already saw the answer for herself.

Just a few walking distance from Café 230, right across the street, with extravagant decorations and the sense of freshness hanging around their area, stood a brand new café that’s full of people with a big, inviting sign that almost blinded Jeongyeon as it said in bright, valentine colors, _The Perfect Red Velvet._

  
  


— ☕️ —

[ _no good in the outside world because i feel too much and find it usually hurts_ ]

**10 HOURS IN**

When another hour passed and there was still no customer in sight, Sana gave Jeongyeon a wild idea about checking out the Perfect Red Velvet to see what the fuss was all about.

“What do you mean, ‘checking out’?”

Sana winked at her. “Spying,” she said excitedly. “It’d be cool! I’ll pretend to be a customer and then I’ll take note of everything they’re doing.”

Jeongyeon shook her head. “Okay, first of all, when you pretend to be a customer, that means you’re going to have to buy something from them, therefore you’re also helping the enemy.”

Sana let out a huff as she crossed her arms, but she didn’t disagree.

“Second,” Jeongyeon continued. “We are strong, okay? We will not stoop down that level. We can think of something else…”

She spoke too soon. She couldn’t think of anything.

Sana, however, seemed to be mulling things over in her mind, because after a few more seconds of silence, her face lit up as she exclaimed, “Let’s lower the prices!”

Jeongyeon grimaced.

“Oh come on!” Sana said, hitting her arm lightly. “Just a _little_ bit lower. It gives people the illusion that it’s cheap.”

“Yeah, only if we can find a lot of people who’ll buy them.”

“There wouldn’t be people buying them if we didn’t try this out.”

Jeongyeon gave in and nodded, unable to think of an alternative. “Okay, fine. Just a little bit.”

“Great! I’ll update the chalkboard outside.”

Jeongyeon was still desperately trying to come up with ideas on how to gain more customers as Sana went out to adjust the prices in the menu and even until the other girl came back.

“And now we wait!” Sana beamed proudly.

  
  


**11 HOURS IN**

(“I told you it wouldn’t work.”

“Well you didn’t want me to spy!”)

  
  


— ☕️ —

[ _days like these, we can only do the best we can; and do it all again_ ]

**12 HOURS IN**

“Thank you!” Sana bid the delivery guy goodbye and walked over to the table where Jeongyeon was seated.

“Remind me again why they didn’t charge you delivery fee?” Jeongyeon asked, taking her burger and fries from the paper bag.

“Because Jackson is nice!” Sana simply replied, taking her own order and sitting right across Jeongyeon. They both figured that since no one was coming in anyway, they’d just use one of the shop tables to eat lunch. Sana, apparently, had acquired a perk whenever she ordered to a nearby local burger store which entailed the same delivery boy bringing her her meal and not charging her for any additional expenses other than the ones she ordered. “A darling, isn’t he?”

“Sure,” Jeongyeon said, mildly surprised at how sarcastic it sounded when she didn’t intend it to sound like that.

Of course, Sana picked it up. “What do you mean?”

Jeongyeon shrugged. “I think they have a crush on you,” she finally said, shoving a handful of fries in her mouth afterwards.

Sana rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t.”

Jeongyeon attempted to say something like ‘ _It seems like that to me’,_ but the words came out sounding like gibberish, courtesy of the food still in her mouth.

Sana winced. “Don’t talk when your mouth is full!” She scolded. “Jackson only does that because I helped out with his and _his boyfriend’s_ thesis.”

The emphasis on the words “his boyfriend” made Sana smirk and Jeongyeon sink in her seat as they went on with lunch.

“You know,” Sana said as Jeongyeon was already halfway through her burger. “There’s this thing in the anime I’ve watched…”

“Mmm?” Jeongyeon hummed, just to let Sana know she was listening.

“There’s always this classroom café thing for their school fairs,” Sana continued, packing up her now empty take-out box. “And the guys and girls would often dress as those victorian waiters and waitresses, with the wooly and frilly dresses.”

Jeongyeon gave her a deadpan stare. “Are you suggesting we wear something like that?”

Sana gave her a _why not_ shrug. “I’m out of ideas,” and then, her jaw dropped. “Oh my gosh! That must be The Perfect Red Velvet’s secret!”

“What?”

“They must be wearing those anime costumes!”

Jeongyeon buried her head in her hands.

But before Sana could even retort, they were startled as soon as they heard the bell to the shop, which indicated that there was a customer who arrived. Jeongyeon shoved the remains of her burger in her mouth while Sana hastily cleaned up their table before flashing a bright smile to the figure by the door. “Welcome to Café 230!”

Her voice squeaked. Jeongyeon tried not to laugh.

Said customer was wearing an extremely conspicuous outfit that seemed like it was put together for the sake of anonymity. They were wearing black boots and a very large black coat and tinted black shades that Jeongyeon thought they looked like one of those evil stepmom villains you see in the movies.

“Oh, thank _god,”_ the customer said, slumping in the seat nearest to them. “The other café is packed with people! I wouldn’t survive there. I need space.”

Jeongyeon squinted. _That voice is familiar._

Sana seemed to be thinking too, but the practiced smile on her face never left.

The customer looked around like they were worried over something before looking to where Jeongyeon and Sana awkwardly stood. The two definitely weren’t prepared when the customer removed the sunglasses.

“I’m Chou Tzuyu. Can I hide here?”

Jeongyeon was speechless. Even Sana seemed to lose her composure for a split second.

“I’m sorry, what?” Sana asked.

“Oh, I’m Chou Tzuyu,” Tzuyu repeated, scratching the back of her head. “I starred in that film—”

“No, no, uh, we know who you are,” Sana quickly interrupted. “You want us to hide you.”

“Oh, yes!” And then she laughed like what she said was something that should be taken lightly. Jeongyeon and Sana were just staring at her, not really finding anything funny. “You see, I was supposed to head to our shooting spot, but this morning, I sneaked out of the hotel to check out some thrift shops, and, well, I guess I took the wrong way and ended up here and now I’m lost!”

She laughed again. Jeongyeon and Sana still weren’t.

“Jeongie,” Sana whispered from beside her. “Are we dreaming?”

Jeongyeon shrugged and shook her head at the same time, not really knowing the answer.

“Anyway, I managed to contact my manager,” Tzuyu continued casually, taking off her coat as well. “But they’re going to take some time to arrive here. In the meantime, I have to lay low, and everywhere else is packed because it’s Valentine’s Day except here, thankfully!

 _Thankfully._ Jeongyeon almost snickered at this thought.

“Uh…” Sana let out, unsure of what to say. “Okay?”

Tzuyu smiled sweetly, and Jeongyeon was pretty sure she almost swooned on the spot. It’s no wonder this girl managed to capture the hearts of the people—she was just _dazzling._ Looking at her, you’d think she wasn’t capable of making you frown.

“Thank you so much!” Tzuyu beamed, her smile now reaching her eyes. “I’m so glad you don’t have any other customers.”

Jeongyeon took the thought back.

Sana only blinked, before regaining her stance and matching Tzuyu’s smile. “Well, is there anything we can get for you?”

“Hmm...” Tzuyu hummed. “I think I’d like the largest cookie frappe you have and two slices of blueberry cheesecake, please. I think they’re discounted.”

Jeongyeon went back to the counter to make Tzuyu’s order, but not before whispering to Sana, “I told you it wasn’t a good idea.”

Sana pouted. _Cute._

Jeongyeon immediately went to blending the coffee and heating the cake before the momentary image of Sana pouting in her mind could fully invade her thoughts.

_Cute._

  
  


**12 AND A HALF HOURS IN**

“Uh,” Tzuyu began, looking up guiltily after searching her purse when Jeongyeon handed her the bill for everything she just ate. “I don’t have my wallet with me.”

_Oh my fucking god._

“I’m going to commit a crime,” Sana hissed loud enough for only Jeongyeon to hear as she smiled through gritted teeth.

Jeongyeon shared the same sentiments.

  
  


— ☕️ —

[ _could be worse, so make it work; no place is perfect_ ]

**13 HOURS IN**

It had been five hours and the only customer they had was still Chou Tzuyu alone, and the actress wasn’t going to be able to pay until her team and manager would arrive to pick her up later.

(“I’ll pay double for the inconvenience I caused.”

 _Good enough,_ Jeongyeon thought.)

So really, Jeongyeon and Sana were left with nothing else to do other than entertain their only customer.

“Are you sure no one’s going to drop by here?” Tzuyu asked for the umpteenth time.

Jeongyeon sighed, leaning back on her chair. They were all gathered around the table where Tzuyu ate her food, watching a drama on the television while waiting for time to pass.

“How I wish there’s someone other than you…” Jeongyeon muttered, watching two men on the television fight over a woman’s affection.

Tzuyu frowned. “I’m surprised you aren’t getting that many customers. Your food is amazing.”

“Well, they seemed to like the new café better,” Sana replied.

The actress gasped. “The Perfect Red Velvet is new?!”

“Apparently,” Jeongyeon told her. “I mean, we all kind of knew they were constructing something over that area, but we didn’t know it was going to be a rival café. And Sana here,” she nodded towards where Sana was seated. “Has been thinking of all these ridiculous ideas to get our usual customers back.”

“Well _Jeongyeon_ here,” Sana retorted. “Couldn’t even offer at least one idea.”

“This is too sad,” Tzuyu lamented, leaning against her hand. And then, “Is that why the prices were discounted?”

“Yeah,” Sana replied grimly. “And also why you’re good with hiding here. No one’s probably going to come.”

“Could’ve used the tips,” Jeongyeon moaned in despair. “But I guess we’re still getting the double pay, at least.”

Sana hummed in agreement. “I actually don’t want to bother anymore. Let’s just let the people in the next shift and Manager Bae deal with this.”

Tzuyu shrugged. “I shall support the both of you!” she then gestured towards the television. “In the meantime, let’s all enjoy this amazing show.”

As soon as she said that, the screen went black.

The three of them just stared at it.

Tzuyu gulped loudly. “Did I jinx it?”

“Probably…” Sana trailed as Jeongyeon stood up to check what happened.

She took the remote and tried turning on the tv, unplugged the cord, plugged it back again, checked the manual controls on the side, and still, the television didn’t open.

“Great,” Jeongyeon groaned miserably, giving up on the remote as she mindlessly pressed random buttons. “Just great.”

Sana sighed. “Did the CCTV at least catch that?”

“It better have,” Jeongyeon muttered, returning to their table. “I am _not_ losing that double pay.”

For a while, they all sat there in silence, the aftermath of their misery still hanging around the air. Tzuyu, however, took it upon herself to lighten up the mood. “Let us play something then!”

“Like what?” Jeongyeon asked, mildly wondering if Tzuyu was capable of running out of cheerfulness.

“Twenty questions!” the actress beamed. Jeongyeon immediately snickered and Sana groaned. Tzuyu then frowned. “What?”

“That’s a cheesy game,” Sana stated plainly. “Also, we’ve played that already.”

“Yeah, but not with me!” Tzuyu defended.

“How exactly do you play twenty questions with three people, anyway?” Jeongyeon wondered out loud. “Besides, Sana and I fairly know each other already.”

Tzuyu opened her mouth to say something but then pursed her lips after that, crossing her arms. Jeongyeon couldn’t hold back the mischievous smile that formed on her lips, and subconsciously, she turned to Sana just to see that she was both smiling and looking at her as well.

“I got it!” Tzuyu exclaimed, reeling them both back to reality. “Let’s do this thing where I ask you a question since you two ‘fairly know each other already’ and then you would have to answer either of your names.”

Sana crossed her eyebrows. “How is that going to work?”

“Like this,” Tzuyu clasped her hands excitedly, and Jeongyeon thought that she might really be a bright person in general, who just really wanted to make people smile. Jeongyeon smiled fondly at her and at the thought; no wonder people loved her charm—it was natural. “First question! Who’s most likely to get scolded by your manager?”

Jeongyeon said “Me” at the same time Sana said “Jeongyeon”. They turned to each other and laughed.

“I mean,” Sana added, chuckling. “She once got scolded by Manager Bae for wearing her shirt backwards.”

Tzuyu laughed. “Why would you wear your shirt backwards?”

“In my defense,” Jeongyeon said. “It was finals season.”

Sana nodded, understanding. “Valid. I like this game. Keep going.”

“You mean you like embarrassing me,” Jeongyeon said.

“That too, probably,” Sana said, pouting again.

Jeongyeon urged Tzuyu to ask the next question before her thoughts could even go back to the adorable look on Sana’s face.

It went surprisingly well. Tzuyu was the sweetest person to exist, even though she could be painfully oblivious and unaware of a civilian’s life. Jeongyeon and Sana were enjoying themselves too.

Perhaps, this Valentine’s Day wasn’t so bad after all.

  
  


**13 AND A QUARTER HOURS IN**

“Who’s most likely to become famous someday?” Tzuyu asked.

Before Jeongyeon could even weigh the options, Sana already answered, “Jeongyeon, for sure!”

Both Jeongyeon and Tzuyu looked surprised at her sureness. “Me?” Jeongyeon asked, bewildered.

Sana was digging through her pocket as she winked at Jeongyeon. “Of course!” she then pulled out her phone, tapped a few things on the screen, and handed it to Tzuyu. “There! Watch her!”

The cover Nayeon posted played before Jeongyeon could even ask what was it that Sana was showing Tzuyu, her voice filling the air of their humble little shop.

Tzuyu marveled at the screen, looking just as amazed when she turned to Jeongyeon. “Oh my god, your voice is amazing! You could do OSTs, you know. I’d definitely hire you to sing the soundtrack of one of my dramas.”

“Eh…”

“It is!” Sana squealed, pocketing her phone when Tzuyu returned it. “I could listen to it all day, honestly.”

For some unwarranted and unknown reason, Jeongyeon’s cheeks flushed. She urged Tzuyu to ask the next question again.

  
  


**13 AND A HALF HOURS IN**

All the questions Tzuyu was asking them were pretty harmless, so Jeongyeon didn’t really have a problem with them. Besides, they were sharing experiences and laughter, with Tzuyu adding a bit of her stories in between as well. It wasn’t like these were questions to dwell over.

Until Tzuyu asked one.

“Wait, before I ask the next question,” Tzuyu said. “I have to know if you’re both single.”

Jeongyeon couldn’t help but snicker. “Why do you think we’re working the Valentine’s Day shift?”

Sana hummed in support. Tzuyu raised an eyebrow at both of them before leaning back against her seat. “Okay then. Who would make a better girlfriend?”

“Jeongyeon,” Sana blurted out so quickly and casually that it caught Jeongyeon and Tzuyu off guard.

The actress was now grinning wildly. Jeongyeon, however, was still surprised. She wasn’t even in the middle of processing the question when Sana already laid out her answer.

“M—Me?” Jeongyeon stammered.

Sana shrugged, like it was an obvious answer. “Yeah, I mean… Anyone would be lucky to date you.”

Tzuyu was now humming what sounded like a teasing tone.

“Oh…” was all Jeongyeon could say as the heat rose up her cheeks.

“Wait, unnie,” Tzuyu teased like she was onto her. “You haven’t answered the question yet.”

Even Sana leaned a little bit closer to hear Jeongyeon better, and somehow Sana being _that_ close was causing Jeongyeon’s heart rate to rise.

“Uh—” she began unintelligently, scrambling for words. In the end, she said the only thing she could think of that time. “Sana.”

The two other girls looked at each other and let out consecutive squeals. Jeongyeon rolled her eyes.

“I only said that because she said my name!” she tried to defend, though somehow, it sounded a lot like she was trying to convince herself.

Whether Sana or Tzuyu picked that up, she didn’t know because Tzuyu started to ask another question again about who makes the best coffees.

Though, that time around, it was Sana who urged her to do so.

  
  


— ☕️ —

[ _check the clock, tick tick tock; don’t stop—serve with a smile_ ]

**14 HOURS IN**

It was at two pm that day that Chou Tzuyu decided she was in love.

Of course, both Jeongyeon and Sana thought those weren’t the right words to use yet, but Tzuyu didn’t really mind them.

It all started while they were in the middle of Tzuyu’s question game, discussing about the best cake icing flavor when the bell to the shop rang again, indicating another customer. It turned out to be Chaeyoung, who never really missed a day of dropping by the café. Jeongyeon and Sana relaxed in their seats when they saw her, already familiar with Chaeyoung.

Tzuyu, however, was another story.

Needless to say, it was one of those movie-like scenes where your dream girl enters the place and everything was in slow motion and suddenly there was only her and her alone, lighting up the room with her presence. 

Jeongyeon didn’t describe that. Tzuyu did.

And Chaeyoung, ever the _darling_ she was, looked at a gaping Tzuyu with a scrunched face. “Do you need anything from me?”

Tzuyu was a sputtering mess.

“Hey,” Jeongyeon greeted Chaeyoung as Sana took care of Tzuyu. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. “Like I’d want my loyalty card to be revoked. I’m close to reaching the goal to get a fifty percent discount.” She then nodded towards a still starry eyed Tzuyu. “Who’s this?”

Sana’s own eyes widened. “You don’t recognize her?!”

“No…” Chaeyoung trailed, squinting at Tzuyu.

“You just said last Wednesday that you’ll date her!”

“I said that?”

“Yeah!”

“I don’t even know this person…”

“Chou Tzuyu!” Tzuyu chirped, enthusiastically stretching out her hand. Jeongyeon could see the gears in Chaeyoung’s brain working. “I’m the ac—”

“The actress, yes,” Chaeyoung filled in. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you at first, I—” she then turned to Jeongyeon sharply. “Why do you have her here?”

Jeongyeon shrugged. “She’s our only customer. Well, other than you.” She stood up from her seat. “Shall I get you your usual?”

Chaeyoung nodded, taking the seat Jeongyeon vacated. Tzuyu immediately started a conversation with her, something Chaeyoung wasn’t definitely expecting as she only stared at the actress ramble on. In the middle of making Chaeyoung’s usual frappe, Jeongyeon saw Sana walking towards her.

“Tzuyu told me she’s in love,” she said, helping Jeongyeon out with the sugar.

Jeongyeon laughed. “Well, she certainly got Chaeng flustered.”

They both looked over their shoulder to see Tzuyu still being her happy self, and Chaeyoung still staring at her but now with a blush on her cheeks.

“Well,” Sana looked pleased. “Who knows? There might be no grumpy Chaeyoung anymore.”

Jeongyeon smiled, going back to the frappe. “That’d be a blessing.”

When they both returned to the table to give Chaeyoung her orders, the younger girl was quick enough to include them in the conversation and change whatever was the topic she and Tzuyu were talking about. “So!” she chirped, the brightest they had heard from her in weeks. Jeongyeon held herself back from laughing at Chaeyoung losing her composure. “How come there’s no people here? I thought this place would be swarming with people given the occasion.”

“That’s what we thought too,” Sana wistfully replied, then glaring at the window. “There’s a new rival café just across the street. They have all our usual customers. Jeongyeon and I—”

“And Tzuyu!” the actress interjected brightly.

“—couldn’t come up with effective ideas to get people to come here. But we decided to give up on it, because we’re still getting paid anyway. Let the others deal with it.”

Jeongyeon moaned sadly. “The tips…”  
“Yeah…” Sana agreed. “Those are such a loss.”

“Huh,” Chaeyoung replied, munching on a small piece of banana cake. Eventually, she said, “You actually have a _very_ powerful weapon in your midst.”

“You make it sound like we’re going to war,” Jeongyeon pointed out.

Sana gave her a knowing look. “It’s kind of like that, though.”

Jeongyeon shrugged. “Fair enough. Which weapon are you talking about?”

Chaeyoung jerked her head towards Tzuyu who was holding her own face in her hands, admiring Chaeyoung. Realization dawned over Jeongyeon and Sana right after she did so.

“Well, we can’t, though,” Sana spoke. “We’re actually hiding her.”

Chaeyoung looked at her like she was joking. “Then you’re doing a bad job at it.”

“Hey! So far, you’re the only one who found her,” Jeongyeon pointed out. “And you didn’t even recognize her at first.”

“Are you talking about me?” Tzuyu said, breaking out of her trance.

“I mean, imagine if people knew that _the_ Chou Tzuyu is here,” Chaeyoung explained. “You’d get a _lot_ of customers.”

“Yeah, but we can’t really expose her,” Jeongyeon explained. “She’s waiting for her managers—”

“I’ll do it!” Tzuyu exclaimed. “I’ll let them know I’m at the shop!”

Jeongyeon and Sana stared at her incredulously.

“But your manager…” Sana began.

“Will not get mad, don’t worry,” Tzuyu reassured them. “They’re on their way, anyway. They could use a cup of coffee.” She then turned to Chaeyoung, fluttering her eyelids on purpose. “I think your idea is awesome! Let’s do it.”

 _Ah,_ Jeongyeon thought. _That’s why._

“On one condition!” Tzuyu added.

Jeongyeon and Sana looked at each other before Jeongyeon asked, “What do you want?”

“Your number, maybe?” Tzuyu said, directing the request to Chaeyoung who was now a blushing mess.

“Uh—uh… I… uh…” She stammered. Tzuyu fluttered her eyelashes again, and Chaeyoung’s cheeks became redder. “Okay.”

“Wait,” Jeongyeon said, realizing something. “How are we supposed to handle _that_ amount of customers?”

“I’ll help,” Chaeyoung offered, cheeks still crimson. “For all the times you gave me those free pastries…”

“I’ll help too then!” Tzuyu beamed. She winked at them. “You’ll get more customers too. Oh my god, why didn’t we think of this a while ago? Chaeyoungie, you’re truly amazing—”

  
  


— ☕️ —

[ _hurry up fill the coffee cup and then in a while, take a breath_ ]

**15 HOURS IN**

Jeongyeon told herself to never underestimate Tzuyu’s reach.

Their shop was _flowing_ with people when Tzuyu made the instagram post that she was at Café 230. Less than a few minutes after she did so, there were already a couple of teenagers squealing inside the shop, asking for an autograph. Eventually, more people entered, and soon enough, the café became the most alive it had been for months. Jeongyeon and Sana were managing the things behind the counter while Chaeyoung and Tzuyu served the tables. Some people came by to peek, some intrigued by the amount of people in the café, some to order takeout, some to ask for autographs, but whatever their reason may be, they all came because of Tzuyu.

Though, there are some who dropped by just to be annoying to their friends.

“Friendship over, Yoo Jeongyeon!” Nayeon declared, marching towards her by the counter. “You hear me? Friendship over! How come you didn’t tell me?”

Jeongyeon gave her a deadpan stare. “Tell you what, exactly?”

“That you met _the_ Chou Tzuyu!” Nayeon practically yelled.

“You’re not even a fan.”

“Yeah, but Mina is!” Nayeon huffed. “I spent so many days binge watching dramas with her and she always admired that girl in the shows and—”

“Don’t worry,” Jeongyeon interrupted her, gesturing to where Mina was. “I think she’s doing well.”

Nayeon turned around to look at Mina. Sometime during the customer surplus, the couple arrived with a loud Nayeon demanding everyone to move out of the way for her and her girlfriend to get through (employee privileges, she had claimed). Mina then eventually found her way to Tzuyu while Nayeon marched over to where her best friend was making frappes.

Jeongyeon took a few seconds to observe how Nayeon looked at Mina. Being the resident to their third wheel, she was used to seeing it. However, no matter how many times she catches the way they look at each other, she still gets blown away every single time. Though she may act bitter and indifferent at times whenever Nayeon would make a comment about her lovelife (or the lack thereof), sometimes, she did wish she had someone.

“Jihyo!” Jeongyeon heard Sana’s voice from beside her. Indeed, Sana’s roommate and best friend entered the door, her boyfriend trailing behind her. “Hey Daniel.”

“Hey,” Jihyo greeted them when they reached the counter. People were still entering, most of them looking for tables and some patiently waiting for Mina to finish her conversation with Tzuyu. Daniel gave all of them a polite bow. “Daniel and I were in town about to watch a movie, so we figured we’d drop by here.”

Sana stuck her tongue out at her. “Liar. You’re here for Chou Tzuyu.”

“Well, that too…”

“By the way,” Daniel addressed Jeongyeon and Nayeon as Sana and Jihyo continued to bicker in the background. “I really thought you and Sana were wearing those frilly waitress dresses I see in animations.”

Nayeon wheezed while Jeongyeon raised an eyebrow, smiling. “What made you think that?”

Daniel shrugged. “I just saw two in the café when we entered.”

Before Jeongyeon could ask about it, Chaeyoung came rushing towards them with the most ridiculous grin on her face. “Unnie, _holy shit._ You wouldn't believe who’s here.”

Jeongyeon furrowed her eyebrows. “Who?”

“Park Sooyoung and Son Seungwan!” Chaeyoung replied in an excited whisper, like it was the most revolutionary answer in the world.

Jeongyeon was just confused. “Who are those?”

“They’re employees from The Red Velvet Café! I think they came by to _spy_ and see why you’re suddenly gaining lots of customers.”

As soon as she said that, she pointed at two people sticking out among the crowd, and Jeongyeon, Nayeon and Daniel all followed where Chaeyoung’s finger was pointing at.

“They’re who I was talking about!” Daniel told them.

Both Nayeon and Jeongyeon couldn’t help themselves and laughed. While Nayeon still looked at the two ‘spies’ who were now admiring Tzuyu, Jeongyeon excitedly rushed over towards where Sana was.

“Sana! Sana! You were right! They dressed up as anime characters! Sana!”

  
  


— ☕️ —

[ _welcome it in, whatever the day brings—more of the same things_ ]

**16 HOURS IN**

Jeongyeon wouldn’t call it damage control, but she supposed she should.

Manager Bae dropped by and ordered a few people to set up the tables outside so the shop can still accommodate the customers that kept coming in. Though a good few have left, there were still a lot who want to purchase some pastries and drinks and maybe get a good look at Tzuyu in person. (It was more of the latter, honestly.)

Nayeon and Jihyo even volunteered to help out because the number of customers they were getting were increasing as moments passed by.

The problem lay, however, in the entertainment.

Sure, Tzuyu was roaming around the shop, but there wasn’t much else to do other than that (or eat, if you were actually there to eat). Not to mention the television was still broken, so they’re currently scrambling for ideas to keep the customers entertained.

But then Sana pulled her to a corner by the counter and proposed an idea.

“You want me to sing?” Jeongyeon made the statement sound incredulous.

Sana beamed. “You can sing that song Nayeon posted on twitter.”

“Okay, well that was an unwarranted recording,” Jeongyeon began, thinking of excuses. It’s not that she didn’t want to; it’s just she didn’t trust herself enough to sing in front of a lot of people. She’s only ever sung when she’s in her dorm, or when she’s carrying out uni and organization work in different places all around campus, so only people she was really close with have heard her singing.

Well, until Nayeon posted the video.

Now, Sana was here, looking at her with pleading eyes and Jeongyeon’s heart was skipping and she didn’t know if it was because of the mixture of dread and excitement swelling in her chest at the idea of singing in the café or if it was just because she was with Sana.

The latter made her nod slowly. “Fine…”

Sana looked at her with stars in her eyes. “Great! I’ll tell Nayeon and the others!”

It was only when Sana left that Jeongyeon realized she forgot to ask why Sana wanted _her_ to sing in the first place. From what she gathered, Tzuyu was also a great singer, occasionally posting well received soundcloud covers every now and then. Chaeyoung, a whole music major, was there too. Not to mention Nayeon and Jihyo who were both known on campus for their amazing voices.

So why Jeongyeon?

She didn’t really get her answer, not when after a few minutes, Sana came back and took her hand and heartily dragged her to the slightest passable podium they found at the corner of the café.

“Where’d you get the mic?” Jeongyeon asked when Nayeon handed her one.

“It’s in the storage room!” Nayeon winked. “Yugyeom was too lazy to bring it back home with him from last year’s Christmas party so he left it there.”

Jeongyeon raised an eyebrow. “And I assume this connects to the sound system of the store.”

Her best friend grinned. “Of course!”

After Nayeon joined Mina in the audience, Jeongyeon saw Sana whisper something to Tzuyu who only nodded enthusiastically and rushed towards where Jeongyeon was. “Everyone!” Tzuyu announced, immediately catching everyone’s attention. “My dear friend here would be serenading us a song! Please give her some love and enjoy her performance!”

Everybody clapped politely. For a while, after Tzuyu left the platform, while Daniel and Jihyo were by the sound system probably plugging in the instrumental they got from the internet, Jeongyeon thought of not going through with it. There were a lot of people watching her, and she didn’t really trust herself to give a great performance.

However, Sana did. Sana trusted her. And she’s right there in the crowd, looking at Jeongyeon with twinkling eyes and the prettiest smile and in that moment, Jeongyeon knew she had to sing.

“Hi, happy Valentine’s Day,” greeted through the mic before signaling Jihyo to play the instrumental.

_“I think she knows her footprints on the sidewalk lead to where I can’t stop…”_

Soon enough, everybody was mesmerized. Just like that, she had the whole room captivated by her. And when the second verse started to play, a few of them sang along. From the corner of her eye, she saw Tzuyu with her phone out, taking a video of the entire performance. Jeongyeon sent a wink towards that direction.

However, it wasn’t until the last chorus played that she really felt the song.

_“She got my heartbeat skipping down 16th avenue got that oh! I mean…”_

Her eyes landed to where Sana was standing, looking at her with the same fond expression she’s been looking at Jeongyeon this entire time.

_“Wanna see what’s under that attitude like, I want you, bless my soul,...”_

There were a lot of people listening to her, but at that moment, somehow, she was only singing to Sana.

_“And I ain’t gonna tell her I think she knows,”_

At this point, she was only looking at Sana.

_“I think she knows,”_

And then the whole crowd sang along with her.

_“I want you, bless my,”_

_“I want you, bless my,”_

_“I want you, bless my,”_

_“I want you, bless my soul,”_

Only Sana wasn’t the only one singing along—but that’s because she was saying something else.

_“I want you, bless my,”_

_“I want you, bless my,”_

Jeongyeon felt heat rise up to her cheeks again when she finally managed to rip what Sana’s lips have been saying.

_“I want you, bless my,”_

_“I want you, bless my soul,”_

“Me too,” that’s what Sana kept saying. “Me too.”

  
  


— ☕️ —

[ _it’s the heartbeat, the center, the lifeline you enter_ ]

**17 HOURS IN**

This year’s Valentine’s Day was something Jeongyeon didn’t expect, but that wasn’t really a bad thing.

There she was, leaning against the door to the locker room, watching her friends sing along to some makeshift karaoke Mina managed to set up, Tzuyu and Chaeyoung talking by one of the tables, customers now minding their own businesses while enjoying their food, and though Jeongyeon was sure the day would leave a big pile of mess for them to clean up, she still wouldn’t have it any other way.

Especially when she felt someone take her arm and drag her inside the locker room, closing the door behind them.

“Hey,” Jeongyeon greeted, unsure but smiling. “Why’d you take me here?”

Sana grinned. “No particular reason, just wanna tell you that you looked cute in that apron.”

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. “Come on Sana, we still have work to do.”

“Psh…” Sana said. “Our friends got it covered. Also, I just want to tell you something. It’s just going to be quick, I promise.”

Jeongyeon was suddenly aware of the distance between her and Sana, and it made her already racing heart beat faster. Still, she managed to nod. “Go on, then.”

Sana paused, staring at Jeongyeon with wide, dazzling eyes, like she was taking the sight of Jeongyeon in, before saying, “You sing well.”

Jeongyeon chuckled. “That’s all?”

“You sing well,” Sana repeated, still looking at Jeongyeon like she hung up the stars. “I mean, I first heard you right here in the locker room probably sometime during the last couple of weeks, when you were humming that song you sang a while ago.”

Jeongyeon tilted her head to the side, motioning for Sana to go on.

“And after that I just couldn’t stop thinking about how great you sang, and then eventually that led me to thinking about you, and noticing you more, and well—“

Sana cut herself off, looking away for a little bit as crimson colored her cheeks. Jeongyeon was pretty sure hers was the same at this point.

“Well,” Sana continued. “Let’s just say I’ve been replaying that video Nayeon tweeted for quite a while now.”

Jeongyeon was now incredibly sure her face was beet red at this point.

“And,” Sana took a deep breath. “ImayhavevolunteeredfortheshifttodaybecauseIknewyouweregoingtobehere.”

Jeongyeon blinked. “What?”

Sana turned to look at her now. “I may have volunteered for the shift today because I knew you were going to be here.”

Her heart was practically doing somersaults at this point. However, seeing Sana all flustered like this stirred something in Jeongyeon, and she couldn’t help but look at the other girl with a fond expression.

_Cute._

Jeongyeon was no longer going to deny that.

_Cute cute cute cute cute._

“So,” Jeongyeon replied, grinning. “What I’m gathering from here is that you, Minatozaki Sana, have a crush on me.”

“Hey, don’t sound so conceited now!” Sana grumbled, but she eventually pouted after that. _Cute,_ Jeongyeon thought again. “But well, uh, yeah, you got that right.”

“Cute,” Jeongyeon voiced out loud. “Wait, were you planning on telling me this today?”

“Hmm, not really,” Sana confessed. “Just planned on admiring you the entire day; but then things happened and here we are! I’m—“

She paused again, looking uncertain for a while. Jeongyeon nodded reassuringly, urging her to go on.

“I’m actually only laying my heart out right now because,” she took a deep breath again. “I don’t know… when you sang the song you looked at me that way too.”

“What way?” Jeongyeon teased.

Sana huffed. “Come on, you know what I’m talking about!”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Jeongyeon raised her hands up in surrender. “Want me to say something?”

Sana raised an eyebrow before nodding.

“I think,” Jeongyeon started, scrunching her nose as she took in Sana’s amused expression. “You’re pretty cute.”

Sana blinked. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Jeongyeon chuckled. _“Oh.”_

“Huh,” Sana giggled.

“So,” Jeongyeon repeated. “There’s still around less than seven or six hours left for Valentine’s Day left, I think. What time do you get off your shift?”

Sana hit her arm.

“Hey!” Jeongyeon exclaimed, nursing the part Sana just hit. “You have to admit it was funny.”

“Fine, I’ll give you that,” Sana replied smugly. “But only because I like you. Did I actually hit you too hard? Let me see that arm…”

Just as Sana went over to check Jeongyeon’s arm, the door to the locker room opened, startling them both.

“Hey Jeongie, where’d you put the brown sug—“ Nayeon cut herself off when she saw the two of them. Sana’s hand was on Jeongyeon’s arm and Jeongyeon was in the middle of rolling up her sleeve. “Oh my god! Oh my _fucking_ god!”

“Hello? Are you okay?” Jeongyeon asked.

Nayeon looked at her incredulously. “You’re doing _it!_ You two are doing _it!_ Oh my god!”

Jeongyeon sighed heavily.

“In the locker room! In the _damn_ locker room! Oh, my eyes, my eyes—“

“Were we even in a scandalous position?” Sana asked Jeongyeon as Nayeon continued to ramble on.

“—Jihyo, holy shit, Jihyo, your roommate—“

Jeongyeon laughed. “Definitely not. It’s just Nayeon being Nayeon.”

“—is _doing it_ in the locker room! You wouldn’t believe who she’s with, I swear—“

“Fair,” Sana replied cheekily, scrunching her nose. “You didn’t even get to kiss me yet.”

“—wait, Mina, babe, I’m not fine. I just saw my best friend—“

Jeongyeon couldn’t resist it. She gingerly placed a soft kiss on top of Sana’s nose briefly, giggling as she pulled away. “There, you got your kiss.”

“—about to do—holy shit did you see that?!”

“Nayeon I think it was just a harmless peck on the nose.” That was Jihyo.

“The locker room,” Nayeon moaned. “Can’t believe it’s now tainted! All because my best friend couldn’t wait to—“

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes. “We weren’t doing anything!”

**17 AND A HALF HOURS IN**

When Tzuyu’s manager and team arrived, they were all profusely apologizing to Jeongyeon and Sana for the ‘inconvenience’ the actress caused, something they told them wasn’t the case. It was in those hours when Tzuyu was smiling at them brightly and genuinely wanting to cheer them up that Jeongyeon realized she was indeed the nation’s sweetheart. While she and Sana were reassuring this to Tzuyu’s staff, the actress was talking to a flustered Chaeyoung by the corner, probably exchanging numbers.

“I’ll text you!” Tzuyu said before she followed her team out of the café.

“Bet you miss her already,” Sana teased Chaeyoung when the car that Tzuyu rode in drove away.

Jeongyeon was expecting Chaeyoung’s usual scowl to be the response to what Sana said, only this time with a furious crimson shade spreading throughout her face. However, Chaeyoung didn’t really do that. Still bearing the red on her cheeks, she smiled.

“Yeah…” she replied dreamily. “I will.”

That didn’t last long, because Nayeon came over and teased her which led her back to being grumpy.

  
  


**17 AND THREE QUARTER HOURS IN**

(By the time the shop closed, Tzuyu texted Chaeyoung.”

“She texted! She texted! Tzuyu actually texted her!

“Sana, why are you the excited one?”

“Because look at her!” Sana was practically jumping on the floor, the broom on her hands now completely ignored as she pointed enthusiastically at Chaeyoung. “She’s smiling! No frown in sight! She’s _beaming!”_

Chaeyoung smiling was indeed, quite a sight. That’s why Sana couldn’t stop smiling as well.

And that’s why Jeongyeon couldn’t either.)

  
  


— ☕️ —

[ _it’s comforting how some things never change, do they?_ ]

**18 HOURS IN**

“Quite a day, isn’t it?” Sana said as they walked back to their compounds. “I didn’t expect work to be that… _memorable.”_

Jeongyeon smiled at the word choice. “I know,” she agreed. “But I’m glad it happened that way, though.”

Sana laughed lightly. “Me too, and I’m pretty sure we’re not the only ones sharing the same sentiments.”

Jeongyeon didn’t need to ask Sana who she was talking about to know who. “Well, at least now they’re texting.”

“Yeah!” Sana beamed. “I was surprised that her manager and team are okay with this…”

“After all the things Tzuyu achieved and got their label the good name? It’s the least they could do,” Jeongyeon replied. “She’s a darling, that one; Very sweet and full of… sunshine.”

“Definitely,” Sana agreed. “Starting to think she’s our lucky charm today. That’s why we got a lot of sales for today in just a few hours. Even Manager Bae was impressed.”

“Plus the tips,” Jeongyeon added.

“And the tips!” Sana exclaimed. “Ah, I’ve been thinking about that dress I found in the department store. I can finally buy it without feeling guilty about using my allowance for lab equipment to buy my extravagant material desires.”

Jeongyeon chuckled. “I was planning on buying clothes too with my tips.”

“Cool,” Sana replied. 

When they reached the bus stop, no one was around. Just the two of them by the shed, waiting for the public vehicle to arrive. Jeongyeon assumed it must be because some people were with their significant others still celebrating the remaining hours of the occasion or maybe just lounging in their homes and enjoying the free time the holiday granted them.

“Let’s go together,” Jeongyeon blurted out.

Sana turned to her. “Hm?”

“Shopping, I mean,” Jeongyeon quickly added. “We could go together, and then maybe grab some food—“

“Yoo Jeongyeon, are you asking me out?” Sana was grinning teasingly now.

_Cute._

_Pretty._

Jeongyeon playfully rolled her eyes. “Haven’t I done that a while ago in the locker room?”

“Well, you were joking that time!”

“Not really,” she said. “But still, I’m serious this time.”

She waited for Sana to say something—do something other than raise an eyebrow at her while still having that mischievous grin on her face. After what seemed like a million heartbeats pounding inside Jeongyeon’s chest, Sana finally said, “Point still stands just like a while ago,” she replied. “You haven’t even kissed me yet.”

So Jeongyeon did.

It was just as light and feathery as the one she placed on top of Sana’s nose a while ago. This time, she did so on the lips. 

Barely there, but still there.

Just a simple gesture to let Sana know that she was there.

Just a simple gesture that translates to a silent promise.

And when she pulled back to look at Sana, the other girl was grinning again, looking at Jeongyeon with, once again, bright, wide, and hopeful eyes.

 _Cute,_ Jeongyeon thought again.

 _Pretty,_ She corrected in her mind.

And then, ultimately;

_Beautiful._

_As always._

  
  


— ☕️ —

[ _opening up, everyday starts with a cup served with “hello, how you been?”_ ]

**7 DAYS AFTER**

“I told you,” Jeongyeon teased Chaeyoung who had been smiling at her phone the entire time she dropped by the café. “You could use a girlfriend.”

Chaeyoung blushed furiously, taking her order from the tray on Jeongyeon’s hands. “She’s not my girlfriend yet!”

“Yet,” Sana sing-sang as she passed by them.

Chaeyoung groaned. “You two are ganging up against me again!”

“You should be used to it by now,” Jeongyeon told her. “We’re going to come as a set soon. No Jeongyeon without a Sana, and vice versa.”

The younger girl’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, you’re dating already? Like, exclusively?”

Jeongyeon winked. “Not yet.”

“Hmm…” Chaeyoung squinted at her. “You’re up to something. What did you plan?”

Jeongyeon only laughed and ruffled her hair. “You’ll see,” and then she retreated back to the counter where Nayeon was.

“Got the mic ready,” Nayeon reported as soon as Jeongyeon reached the counter. “You’re singing a new song here in the café again?”

“Yup,” Jeongyeon replied.

“Okay…” Nayeon trailed. “Should I be concerned about what for?”

Jeongyeon shrugged, looking over her shoulder to glance at Sana. She was smiling sweetly at a customer, and from this distance, Jeongyeon could hear snippets of what seemed like Sana telling them about how the tv is broken. It brought back a fond memory that made Jeongyeon smile. She glanced at the window to check on how The Perfect Red Velvet was holding up. It turns out that they ditched the anime costumes on their second day, only using such extravagance for their opening. So far, there’s peace between the two cafés.

Jeongyeon turned to look back at Sana again, then back to Nayeon and offered her a knowing grin.

“Nothing to worry about,” Jeongyeon reassured her. “Just going to serenade the café with a song that could also loosely translate to asking Sana to officially date me.”

Nayeon dropped the straw she was holding, looking at Jeongyeon like a proud mom. _“Holy shit?”_

“Yes, yes, now keep it down.”

“Holy _fucking_ shit! Oh my god, you finally got a girl! This is so cool! You’re—“

“Nayeon, you’re gonna ruin the surprise.”

“—gonna have someone! We should _definitely_ double date. Or triple date, if we add Jihyo and her boyfriend. Quadruple if we can get Chaeyoung and Tzuyu to join us! Is there even such a thing? Anyway, _holy shi—“_

**10 DAYS LATER**

(“You could use a girlfriend,” Chaeyoung teased her.

“I know,” Jeongyeon smiled. “That’s why I got one.”)

  
  


**14 DAYS LATER**

(“Hey Jeongie, table seven needs extra sug— _what the fuck?!”_

“Nayeon do you ever knock?!”

“In the locker room!” Nayeon wailed. “In the _damn_ locker room!”

“In our defense,” Sana sheepishly said, giggling. “We’re not on duty.”

“Forget the sugar! My eyes…” Nayeon moaned as she closed the door behind. “My poor, poor eyes!”)

**Author's Note:**

> [ ♨︎ ] kudos and comments will be very VERY appreciated 🥺
> 
> be my friend please!! ♡  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/halfmoonjisung)  
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/halfmoonjisung)


End file.
